Review: HTC Windows Phone 8X

Even though it's burdened by an unnecessarily silly name, the HTC Windows Phone 8X makes Microsoft's brand new operating system look spectacular.

Software and hardware coalesce beautifully within the 8X, and it's easy to see how this smartphone will draw attention not just to itself, but to the fledgling Windows Phone 8 operating system, when it's displayed on retail shelves.

HTC has delivered something Windows Phone has needed for a while: a phone you'd actually want.Microsoft has made several hardware support improvements in Windows Phone 8 to ensure that the operating system could run on more competitive, higher-end devices. So HTC's flagship device, timed to hit stores when Windows Phone 8 becomes publicly available Monday, arrives packed with all that newly supported hardware. The Taiwanese company has delivered something Windows Phone has needed for a while: a phone you'd actually want.

First, the hardware design. When you look at the 4.3-inch 8X, it's hard to deny the similarities between Lumia's phones, the 900 and the forthcoming 920. The 8X has the same curved Gorilla Glass display surrounded by a thin frame of color. The phones have similar shapes: rectangular with fairly sharp corners and rounded edges. The Lumia-esque bezel design only adds to the familiarity.

But once you actually hold the HTC 8X, you'll notice the difference: It's incredibly thin, yet it doesn't feel at all flimsy. The company's designers said they developed the 8X body by imagining a Windows Phone Live Tile puffed with air. I believe it, given the 8X's distinctly pillow-shaped contoured back.

The thickest part of the phone measures 10.12 millimeters. Compare this to the HTC One X's 8.9mm and the iPhone 5's 7.6mm. Remarkably, however, the 8X feels around the same thinness as the iPhone 5, and even thinner than the iPhone 4, which is 9.3mm. I realize those numbers say otherwise, but this feels like a very thin phone, and design doesn't look bulky at all. The buttons – a top-right lock button, a volume rocker, and a dedicated camera shutter – all rest flush along the edge of the phone so everything is seamlessly smooth. Finally, with the soft finish of the matte polycarbonate body, all of this adds up to a handset that's enjoyable to hold. I couldn't help absentmindedly turning the phone over and over in my hand.

And of course the colors are eye-catching. I got the blue global model (named "California Blue" by the company), which will be available through all carriers. The 8X also comes in a very bright highlighter yellow, an orangey-red, and the standard black.

The 8X is also totally spec'd out. This is the company's high-end, flagship Windows Phone offering, so it competes with some of the best phones on the market in terms of raw numbers. You get a gorgeous 4.3-inch super LCD 2 display with 1280 x 720 resolution and 341 ppi. Colors are incredibly bright and blacks are super black. I couldn't see any notable differences between this screen and the Retina Display on my iPhone.

Inside there's a Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor, the same chip that powers the Galaxy S III and the HTC One X, so speed was never an issue. The phone has 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, which might be a bit low for power users who store a lot on their phone, but is totally fine for me and most users. The device supports 4G LTE, along with all the other standard cellular frequencies. Like its Android One series, HTC has outfitted the 8X with Beats Audio.

Sporting a 1800 mAh battery, the 8X has respectable battery life. It lasted me all day with average use, and only drained toward the end of the day when I spent several hours browsing the web, calling people, and playing around with it non-stop while stranded inside a plane that was stuck on the tarmac at JFK. If you're worried about battery life, there is a battery-saving mode in Windows Phone 8. Just turn it on and specify that you want it to kick in when battery life is low and your phone will only run your apps when you're actively using them (no multitasking or updating Live Tiles).

One slightly annoying feature: When the battery gets low, I noticed at around 7 percent battery life, a small red light behind the earpiece will start to blink. It's distracting. If there's a way to turn it off, I couldn't easily find it.

Windows Phone 8 ran super smoothly on the 8X, and I didn't see any lag or stuttering while swiping and tapping around the OS. HTC only had one additional app installed on the Start Screen, called HTC for WP8, which gives you the stock market updates, the weather and the latest new headlines. I actually kept the app on my Start Screen since the Live Tile shows a big time stamp – much easier to see than the tiny digital clock at the top right corner – and a bit of info about the local weather. Other pre-installed HTC apps included Flashlight, Converter for converting units, and Connection Setup for configuring your mobile network.

The apps themselves are nothing fancy, but each was useful enough so as not to fall into the bloatware category. Since this was a global phone, not a U.S. carrier-specific device, I happily did not have to deal with carrier apps.

Call quality was very clear when I had 3G or better signal. At one point I had a couple of bars of on AT&T's EDGE network, and suffered through several calls that would cut in and out or just plain drop. But that has much more to do with the carrier than the phone. While the global phone did not support AT&T's 4G LTE bands, it picked up HSPA and HSPA+ service with no problems.

One area that could use some improvement is the camera. The 8X has the same 8-megapixel, f/2.0 camera with an HTC ImageChip as the One X Android handset. While the design is great, with the camera positioned flush against the back of the phone and surrounded by an accented aluminum bezel, photo quality was not as impressive. Low-light photos only looked OK, and only after I messed with the settings. I wasn't satisfied with the level of detail in photos overall, especially compared to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, which still has the best camera.

The 8X does, however, have a neat wide-angle, front-facing camera. It's a 2.1-megapixel camera, which is higher than most front-facing shooters. This definitely isn't a feature for the photographers, as much as the teens and college-aged kids at parties that want to take the classic Facebook group shot and fit multiple people in the photo. It's also fun for quick self-portraits with landscape backgrounds, since the wide-angle lens can actually capture the landscape.

Both cameras can record 1080p HD video. The front camera is obviously lower quality, but I was surprised at how well it took video in fairly low-light situations. It didn't capture movement very well. There was a lot of blur, but I could see it being useful for quick video messages to friends.

Considering how much Nokia has shown off its PureView technology, the camera on its Lumia 920 will likely be the main selling point when it markets its new phone alongside HTC's 8X.

Another point we're likely to hear about: Any non-Nokia Windows Phone 8 device does not have public transit directions built into the Maps app. Only Nokia Maps on Lumia phones will include a public transportation feature, so those who depend on buses and subways to get around will have to download a third-party app on the HTC 8X. This is ridiculous, but there you have it.

Other than that, Windows Phone 8 will provide a fairly consistent software experience across varying hardware. The differentiating bits will be phone design, the camera, and a few built-in apps. This is the first Windows Phone 8 device I've tested for an extended period of time, but I can say that the 8X definitely shines in design – from the accented earpiece to the seamless buttons. The camera is good enough, though not at the top of the heap when ranked against other smartphone shooters. And the built-in software is minimal, which is refreshing.

WIRED Beautiful design. Stunning screen. Makes Windows Phone 8 look hot. Easy-to-use camera shutter button with half-hold for focusing. Wide-angle front-facing camera is fun.

TIRED Red blinking low-battery light is annoying. Phone gets noticeably warm with prolonged use. No public transportation directions in Maps. Main camera is kinda meh.